Nelson Lakes National Park to Lake Sedgemere - Rainbow Road

We were back in the saddle on Sunday, February 3rd after taking a rain day in Nelson Lakes National Park. The weather started clearing which allowed us no more excuses. It's hard to convince yourself that you need a day off. Guilt seems to overwhelm us when we're not moving forward even though we're on holiday.

Throughout our trip we've been gearing up for the Rainbow Road - it's sort of an unknown to most. We'd ask people in different regions to find out what they knew about Rainbow Road. Some say we would not be able to make it through on touring bikes, we'd need mountain bikes - while others would say, "Ah, it's not a problem. You'll be just fine!" We heard rumours it's only open during March for the Rainbow Rage, a one-day mountain bike race and then others say it's open. It wasn't until we were at the DOC center in St. Arnaud did we actually speak with a ranger who gave us pamplets and a brief run down of the road. Our concerns were eliminated. Rainbow Road...here we come!

Rainbow Road is the entry point to Molesworth Station, the biggest farm in New Zealand. Up to 10,000 cattle are run, including 3500 breeding cows and heifers throughout the region. Five permanent farm staff, including the station manager, are employed, plus five stockmen and a general hand for all but the winter months. Today, Molesworth is managed by the DOC with Landcorp Farming Limited responsible for farming operations under a lease agreement that respects the property's outstanding conservation and recreation values as well as the working farm. This explains the toll we paid to pass through private property at the Old Homestead. Three rivers pass through Molesworth Station - Clarence, Wairau and Acheron.

From Nelson Lakes we rode approximately 11 miles before we took a right onto Rainbow Road. The first several miles we road through Beech forests on chip 'n seal roads. Gravel roads would dominate the remainder of the ride until we reached Hanmer Springs. Throughout we'd ride through open range with cattle and sheep - up and down short hills - fording small rivers. We were planning on staying at Coldwater Creek which was one of the designated campgrounds. Coldwater Creek came and the sand flies were overwhelming. We decided we'd ride on and take our chance at Lake Sedgemere. Definitely worth the risk...how could they possibly get worse?

We arrived late in the afternoon/early evening at Lake Sedgmere. Sedgemere Hut sat at the edge of Clarence River with clear, open range all laid out before us. The setting was gorgeous...and no sand flies! The dip in the river prepared us for a good night's sleep. It was a long day but well worth the work. Some slight corrugation in the road. The gravel requires a bit more energy than the standard chip 'n seal road...especially when it gets deep.